Ulsterman

Egad-next of kin ribbon! Even rarer these days(now that I squint in this fluorescent office light I can see the red....darn these gray walls and their reflection). I mean the top of the ribbon along the "edge" of the metal plate. I am looking for a stitching pattern.

Bar looks nice-but I don't trust the spange.

I'd restore it. Can we see a close up of the backs' edges please? Have you blacklighted the under ribbons (noncom EK2)?

Is the pin upside down too?

You know-he's getting better. Kelly's uses him for repro bars (which he sells as repros, but when he stops using the edge stitching and the new ribbons-and makes 5 medal bars that are reasonable.....he'll be creating real problems.

Hmmmmm... no list of crown orders in the archives? Kev, I see a research opportunity! Think of the story there-captured by the USSR, released and then recaptured by the Germans 9 months later.

could he have been a military bureaucrat of some type?

Very cool Kev!! Do you ever see any photos of these being worn? If you ever have a few extra you want to unload, let me know! Really interesting and great bars! :cheers:

Whoa Nellie!! Are those Republican Guard beret badges? Where were those worn? They look quite nice compared to most of the insignia.

Well, it's pretty darn nice. I think of these as being on a level with an MGS or Waterloo in terms of desirability. I have met a couple of people who earned these and read a bit about a number of the ones awarded in the USA and they ALL represent a tale worth hearing. The last one I "saw" was worn by its recipient, a civilian US Air Corp woman (who had gone to Wellesley and was a runner up for "Miss New England" in 1940)who had flown something like 500 bombers to the UK during the war. It was her only medal.

I have a reprint of the "Traditions Verlag" Uniformen und Abzeichen der SA,SS,HJ und Stahlhelm" originally printed in 1935. Abzeichen (arm shields) for Stahlhelm Gau are listed and shown as: Anhalt, Baden, Bayern, Gross-Berlin, Regiment Reinhardt, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Hanover, Gross Hessen, Hohenzollern, Lubeck, Magdeburg, Mecklenburg, LV Mittedeutschland, LV Nordmark, LV Ostmark, LV Ostpreussen, LV Pommern-Grenzmark, LV Sachsen, LV Schlesein, Ortsgruppe(unintelligable), Gau Unterweser, LV Westfalen, LV westmark, LV Wurttemberg.

sweet!! I always wonder about these;they have such great stories behind them. If only they had numbered them.

Neat! Oh I'd LOVE to see a photo of him @ 1880. Can you imagine?...... Italian Unification medal, Italian Independence medal, Italian Long service, British Crimea, Turkish Crimea and French Italian campaign medal. Now, THAT would be a group to see.

Yes, BUT while the HK was awarded as a national WW1 participants' award, the unofficial awards" weren't banned outright until later in 1935. There was a @ 18 month overlap that coincided pretty much with the Nazis coopting the Stahlhelm. After the Stahlhelm was disbanded and "coordinated" with other groups (notibly the SA)it became the official war vets association.

I'll take a stab at the medals in #30. Hopefully others will correct me and/or fill in the gaps: 1. Saxe Coburg Gotha Ernestine civil merit house order medal w/crown -silver 2. Bavarian Red cross society service medal (odd ribbon though) 3. ? 4. Saxe Coburg Carl Eduard's personal House order medal(awarded after the 1918 abdication) w/crown/home service? bronze 5.Ehrenbund Detsch.Kreigsteilnehmer WW1 commem. medal with bars 6. Saxe Coburg Gotha war cross (IR 95 ?) 7. Coburg Red Cross commemorative medal for war service-1917 OR (most probably) Bavarian Red Cross society medal. 8.? 9.Saxe Coburg Carl Eduard wedding 1905 commemorative 10. German Honor Legion WW1 commemorative medal 11. ? 12. Treu d. Regiment medal 13. Kyfserbund members' medal 14. Hungarian WW1 commem. medal 15. ? shooting society award??

wow!! THAT is rare. :jumping:

Can we see a certificate? If there were 15,000 British (unengraved) medals to Sardinians and assuming KIA got medals too-then @ 6,000 Sardinian Crimean medals is a good estimate (21,000-15,000) ?

A Bavarian Feldwebel in Bav. IR# 5. NICE BMVKx there too. Spiffing photo. I think it says: "In Munich during the vacation (leave)? Novemer 14 1916. "

Good Lord! The Hungarians had advisers in North Korea (?). GREAT GROUP!! :jumping:

Rottgardt' division series (volume 6) has LOTs of information on these (mostly footnotes). I own a goodly chunk of paperwork for one of the 600s and my ambition is to one day read, organize and publish a summary of the box of stuff associated with its commander. "Towards the end of 1916, there were indications that the Allies might try to land an invasion force via Denmark or Holland and that these nations (esp. Denmark) might enter the war on the wrong side! In December 1916 the Army High Command ordered the creation of the 603rd, 604th,605th, 609th and 610th Infantry regiments from Ersatz battalions at home. The 601st, 602nd, 606th,607th and 611th to 614th Landsturm Infantry regiments (there was no 608th) were combined from existing independent Landsturm battalions. In January 1917 followed the 613th to 627th Infantry regiments. The 621st and 622nd were Saxon, the 627th from Wurtemberg. All regiments consisted of older men fit only for garrison duty and of older Landsturm men. They were intended as guards for the northern coastlines. However, due to losses, some of these regiments were joined into the 501st to 506th Infantry Brigades of the 251st-253rd Infantry Divisions raised in January, 1917. Which troops of other arms might have belonged to these divisions is in principle not known. However, those large formations never appeared on the battle fronts. They were never intended for such service, stayed immobile and were disbanded again on Feb. 25th, 1918. So, they usually do not figure in German Inventories of the Infantry Divisions of World War One. The 251st Infantry Division consisted of 501st and 502nd Infantry Brigades. the 501st Brigade was made up of the 601st and 602nd Landsturm IRs. The 502nd Infantry Brigade was made up of the 603rd and 604th Infantry Rgts. Engineers attached to the 251ID were the 378th and 379th Pioneer companies. The 603rd IR was raised on December 5th 1916 by the 10th Corps district and disbanded on Feb. 25th, 1918. Replacements were sent from the 1st Ersatz Bn./91st Infantry Rgt. (Oldenburg 10th Corps district).

I'd wager good money that with Lippe's rolls being worked on, the owner of that bar may be identifiable now (by certain people who have almost all the rolls being worked on). :whistle:

WOW!! very cool indeed. I have noticed them on eBay over the past year. Someone offered me one for $150, so the price has come down. The proffered helmet did not have a badge though. The ribbons are not easy to find either. I like very much the second example.

Nafziers' overview is a good start. It corrects many of the original errors as to when/where etc.

Fantastic helmet!! Interestingly, I was offered a similar one by a dealer in Addis last month. I have a vets old uniform, but not an IG one (they had epalettes). There's a GREAT photo of these being worn in the National Geographic @ 1964. There can't be more than 100 of them still around and few in that good condition.

Perchance can you make that photo any larger? This is driving me batty!